Auburn football transfer departee enjoying himself more now than when he was at AU or Oregon

Robby Ashford appears to be enjoying himself more now at South Carolina than when he was at Oregon or the Auburn football program -- revealing that he has finally found what he's looking for in Columbia.

Ashford implied that former teammates of his were "in it for themselves."

"It's been better than any competition I've ever been in. In a lot of competitions weird stuff goes on but this room, I haven't seen any of that," Ashford said (h/t The Greenville News). "There was a lot of individualized stuff at the other places I've been, everybody wanted it for themselves and it drew a lot of people apart, forcing people to pick sides, that's not healthy for a team ... when I came (here) and knew it was a competition, I didn't want any of that to happen."

Ashford was named LaNorris Sellers' backup after committing to Shane Beamer's Gamecocks with a chance to start.

"Talent evaluation can be subjective in nature," The War Rapport's Mike Gittens told me back in January. "Hugh Freeze did not feel like Robby Ashford was an SEC caliber QB but Shane Beamer does. Not only does he believe that but the thinking inside the building is that he will be the best QB in the room once he steps on campus. I think it’s his job to lose. Sure he can lose it but his chances of starting over Doty are good.”

Robby Ashford competed with other transfer QBs in Auburn football position battles

Ashford only ever competed against fellow transfers in quarterback battles during his time on the Plains.

In 2022, Ashford beat out TJ Finley for the starting job, though it didn't happen out of the gate. Finley won the job coming out of fall camp but lost it by Week 4 when Ashford and Co. helped save Bryan Harsin's job in a narrow win against Mizzou.

After Hugh Freeze replaced interim head coach Cadillac Williams in late 2022, though, and Freeze added Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne after A-Day, it was clear Ashford wasn't going to be the pillar of the Tigers' offense moving forward.

Could that be why he felt the way he did? After all, transfers know what they want when they enroll in a new school; and it's usually a starting job. If they were team-first 100%, they wouldn't be leaving their previous team.